Family,
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| We celebrate Christmas year round in this house. |
So, January 2016. WOW - how did we even get here? Hard to believe, but the new year has started, and it looks to be one FILLED with Milestones for the Munchkin (and hopefully Team Taylor as well). As I type this 5 days in, I feel very refreshed and pleased with the way we've kicked off January. For starters, both JT and I are making a conscious effort to get up in the morning ahead of K so that we can read the Bible and spend some time focused and reflecting with God. 2015 was a transformational year that saw us start our walk with God as a family in earnest, and now I can't wait to see how much we move the dial in 2016.
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| T T wearing goggles and daddy's "Focs." |
1/1 - Happy New Years!!!!! We kicked the year off right by starting with milestones we want (and need) to cross off. First up? POTTY TRAINING!!!!! That's right, sports fans, Team Taylor is officially on the mission to get K out of Dora Pull-ups and into Peppa Panties. We actually had a good start on this day, as K did pee in Ducky Potty. However, as a dude, I feel it important to paint the scene...Picture New Year's Day - football on, plenty of food around, the Christmas decorations still up, and all is right with the world. Then add a Ducky Potty sitting in the middle of your living room (and make no mistake - when you go upstairs, you are taking that puppy up with you), occasionally singing "The One Little Duck With the Feather on his Back" when K either pees or when water touches the circuit in the bowl. You have a daughter who has no pants and no diaper on, and when she decides to turn and watch football with you, her tiny little "bummy bummy" is right in the way. And when you do have a successful pee pee, you and the missus are doing the pee pee dance at 200 decibels while K says, "And now I get a KISS! Mwah!" (and again, make no mistake - she's blowing you a kiss, but you are to present her with a Hershey's kiss...OR SHE WILL STAB YOU).
So yes, Potty training has officially begun. It's not full blown "boot camp," but we are letting her run around bottomless or in panties some. Oh, and did I mention our daughter slept 14 hours on New Years? That girl LOVES HER BED NOW!Side note - Good news for Jenny on this day, as she got confirmation from Reach that her HCG levels were finally back down to zero. This is GREAT news, as it means she can now go and do the full workup with them during her next period. That is a big step forward (recorded in our RPL notebook), and it definitely feels like we're continuing to move things forward.
1/2 - Great progress on the potty training front! K peed and even pooped TWICE this day! She actually slept FOURTEEN HOURS this day, showing us that she hadn't in fact been sleeping quite as well as we'd previously thought in the big girl bed. However, the 14 hour nap was proof that she was getting more comfortable, and I'm happy to report that January has been a really good sleeping month (there was a little hiccup the night of 1/9, but only for a minute and only until we removed "Santa water" from the room at 2:36 AM...details...). K ended up peeing on Ducky Potty 3 times this day (as well as two poopies!), and we recorded 3 accidents (2 before nap). I'll take 5-3 as an overall progress for the day!
Another thing we noticed this day - whenever K is thinking about something, she'll say "hmmmmm" loudly. It really does sounds as though she deep in thought - too cute! Also, before we tucked her in at night, she started saying, "I miss you guys so much." It sounded pitiful every time she said it - like we'd been gone for 6 months backpacking and were about to head back out to Outer Mongolia. She's actually since stopped saying it, replacing it with blowing us big kisses (which we much prefer). Truth be told, she now seems really, really comfortable in her room and in her bed - something which makes mommy and daddy very happy. Side note - I am now returning to writing this blog on 5 February. So yes, that means my BRILLIANT plan of actually writing as I went along didn't transpire. However, given the new 6 AM ritual, I am confident it won't be the middle of the month before this particular post is complete. Famous. Last. Words... :-)
1/3: "On your mark, get set go, on a Bible adventure..." - K watched another one of these shows on this day and learned a new verse: Psalms 51.10. Side note here - "Bible Adventure" has become a staple part of our ritual, and it's been simply ADORABLE to watch Kaitlyn in rapt fascination as she watches it. She can now sing the entire theme song (I tried to record it the other night and had it on the photo setting - SO disappointed!), and she has learned quite a few memory verses (she learned Ephesians 6:1 on the 5th when she did a different one). The ritual is pretty much in the afternoon (either before or after dinner). She'll sit on the couch (and we are talking CATATONIC once we turn the i-Pad on), her little bare feet dangling off the end and the device on her lap. She'll sing the theme song, wiggle her ears when it's time to learn the Bible verse, repeat it (complete with the hand signals), and then sing with Emily and Mr. Music (i.e. "I say no to sins."). She's even started quoting the show, with my favorite being: "GO AWAY, SATAN! Jesus commanded." She even closes her eyes (even when she doesn't think we're looking) at the end when Emily and Shine pray. I mean, how can you not love it? For our part, we feel very blessed to see her starting to learn about God and Jesus at such a young age - it's an exciting time for all of Team Taylor.Some general notes that I jotted down for early Jan:
1. K is still sucking her thumb A LOT. She doesn't do it when she's active, but it's pretty much a constant when she's watching TV or just standing around. She's sucked it so much that there's a MONSTER callous on her thumb (which she compares to the callous on my toe from running). And while I know that we need to start curbing it, JT and I have been hesitant to push it too much in light of all the other transformations and changes we're imposing (Big Girl Bed, potty training, etc). For now we'll just monitor it. When she hits 3, however, we are conscious it's something we'll need to press a bit more.
2. We're pretty sure that she's hit a growth spurt (we noticed this on the 5th), as more and more lately she's a) KILLING her dinner, and b) we're noticing that she's towering over other kids her age. It is becoming harder and harder to tell the ages of other kids on the playground based on K's size, as I definitely think she's tall for her age.
3. Sugar intake - I'm sure I'll reference this with the potty training, but I (and Jenny as well) have
become a bit concerned with K's sugar intake as of late. Long story short - she gets a treat every time she goes potty, and she's pretty much mastered peeing - which she will now do up to 5 times a day. Add in a little treat for a "happy plate," and that's a lot of sugar throughout the course of the day. It's not a ton at any one sitting - an animal cracker here, 2 M & M's there, 1 Smartie here, the occasional ice cream, a Dum Dum, etc - but the amalgamation of it does have us a little concerned (and by extension checking calories and nutritional information more often). We are conscious that we've got to dial back the rewards - especially for peeing. We've now gone to a cap of 2 lollipops, no treat for breakfast, and no more Hershey's kisses as rewards (tyrants, I know). So far that seems to be fine, and I'm hopeful we can wean her off of the reward based performance. Now don't get me wrong - we're willing to give her about ANYTHING for pooping on the potty (more to come below), but peeing now feels pretty solidified (no pun intended). Actually, let's just jump to potty training now.
Bottom line - MY WIFE IS AMAZING and has done some TREMENDOUS work on this front. Looking at where we are now vs. where we were on New Year's Day, it is just incredible. GONE are overnight absorbent diapers. Pull-ups during the day are a thing of the past. Ducky Potty is now the centerpiece of our living room, but pretty much every room in the house is now getting love. The bottom line - K is definitely getting it!
1/3: We did have an accident, but overall it was a good day. This was the day we started using the timer on the oven. Whenever we heard the chime, TT knew it was time to walk over to Ducky Potty, drop her drawers, and try to go. Now at first she didn't want to sit there, so Jenny did whatever she could to keep her occupied. At this time it was stickers, and K seemed good with that. To be clear...this didn't last. :-)
1/5: This was the first time that K actually NAPPED IN PANTIES!!!! Now let me go on record - this girl LOVES her panties. She's got Dora, Doc McStuffins, Sofia, and Minnie. And it's a good thing to, because we've tossed more than a few and went through a BOATLOAD during the 2 middle weeks of Jan. But we'll get to that part... :-) The point is that K did have an accident (poopy) on this day, but she napped in panties and woke up dry! Also, at dinner she told us, "I need to go pee pee" and then proceeded to sit on Ducky Potty and urinate a TON. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!! That was the first time she'd told us that she needed to go, so that definitely felt like a win (and let us know that she was starting to learn the feeling - "when you feel it down low, gotta go, gotta go!").
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| Just a typical afternoon urinating in the kitchen. That's how we roll. |
1:7: Panties to Preschool!!!! This was obviously a BIG DAY, and we didn't know how this would go. However, I'm happy to report that it went GREAT! K did pee on the potty, and all was well. JT started a great ritual that she's still doing now - they try to go potty as soon as K gets to preschool, and it sounds like they've almost always had luck when they've tried.
Side note that I observed somewhere between 1/5 and 1/7 - she's putting on her PJ's SO WELL now. We still have to put the shirt over her head, but she can do the rest. She's also getting better about putting the pants on correctly (tag in the back) unless she's upset and cranky. Also, she's now drinking from a normal water bottle (the "Christmas water" from Santa). We still carry sippy cups around, but it's clear that she can drink from a bottle (not without incident, to be sure, but it's getting there!).
1/9 - Dad, Alice, and Pattie came on this day, and we all went and ran errands as a family. K peed at Academy, Total Wine, and the Flying Saucer on this day - she was a rock star! At Total Wine she actually peed in her pants a bit, but she caught it and managed to stem the flow. Again, that was a big win, as she realized that she had the power to hold it back when necessary. All in all, it was another GREAT day (and she was great about going to the bathroom when we went in somewhere).  |
| No better way to relax on the can than with a little tea. |
Admittedly that part was a bit tough out of the gate for me, as remembering things like setting the timer, going as soon as we entered a store, pulling off/down all the clothes when it's cold, etc - this was all new to me, and I'd forgotten how critical it was to slow the pace of everything down and really focus on this particular item. But you have to give it to K and her resilience, as she's shown TREMENDOUS progress and has made strides every single day.
The weekend (really a 36 hour blitz) with Dad & Co was great, as we got some quality time with them running around the city. Also, K got some great little gifts, including these CUTE cowgirl boots (which she loves). Her favorite gift was likely this tiny little tea set, which for a bit became the most critical potty training tool in our arsenal! That's no joke, as she was willing to sit for extended periods on the toilet while playing with it, and she always wanted to drink water from the teapot and cups, which put more fluid in her and helped her go more often! Oh, and side note - we got a new car seat for my car this weekend! It was actually the one that Russ & Angie had given us MONTHS ago. I was ready to pitch it, but truth be told my car seat was horrifically jacked up, and Alice wanted a project. Consequently, they installed it (JT and Alice), and all was well - until we realized a part was missing. :-) Details...I am happy to report that we did get it set up the following weekend, and all is now well.
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| 3 generations of Taylors visiting an iconic landmark in Charlotte - Total Wine. :-) |
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| Trouble right there! |
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| "I'm gonna turn you into a frog!" |
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| Alice's beauty shop - in cowgirl boots, no less. |
1/10: "Hey, Daddy, Focus!" So this was CLASSIC. I was talking to Jenny about something and not really paying attention to K (who clearly wanted to show me something), when suddenly she dropped that bomb on us. We CACKLED! It's the first time I've realized she's imitating something I must say quite a bit. She's actually since said it a few more times, and you can tell that she actually thinks it's part of the normal vernacular. For now, I just think it's cute. I just hope she doesn't tell Ms. Tara to focus at any point... :-) Oh, and on this day she needed to go and just marched over to Ducky Potty and crushed it! Yeah, baby!!!!!
This night was one of those where K was in full meltdown, and she actually took off her pants and diaper during the evening. We didn't know about this until she called out at 12:30 at night asking for JT. Her pants were soaked, she was shivering, and there was pee all in the bed. Sounds like she'd taken off the overnight diaper and then just put the pants back on (she can't really put the overnight back on by herself). JT got her to the bathroom, changed her sheets, and got her settled. Side note to give MAD PROPS to my wife here, as Jenny has been a ROCK STAR with K in the night lately. K's probably woken up 2-3 times a week over the past 2 weeks in the middle of the night, either needing to go potty or having peed in her overnight pull up diaper, and Jenny has just been a rock of consistency, patience, and energy. I LOVE THAT WOMAN! 1/14: "Nighttime Panties": Realizing that overnight diapers were no longer practical (and K was starting to rebel openly against them), we moved to "nighttime panties" for K (translation - overnight pull-ups). K didn't mind this. If anything, she was just happy it was something she could pull up, and so all was good. Truth be told she wakes up dry about 50% of the time now, and that pull-up is never saturated. I think we're a ways off from moving to panties at night, but truth be told I don't see a big rush there.
We also attended "Frozen Night" at Chik-fil-a this evening, and it was a fun little escapade. The place was well and truly packed - so much so that we barely found a seat! They had Olaf crafts, Princess Moo Cow walking around, and even Anna and Elsa posing for pictures. K was most fascinated with Moo Moo, whom she pretty much stalked the entire time. She didn't actually eat very much, as she was just fascinated with the cow and all the people. We saw a few friends there, and I'm sad to report that either Ronan or Mason threw up in the play area, shutting it down. However, on a positive note, it was absolute BEDLAM in there, and K was at least willing to walk in. She didn't want to stay long (understandable, as I didn't either!), but again - it's progress!
1/17 - Emmi's 3rd birthday: So this was a treat, as Emmi had a 3rd birthday bash over at Romp 'n Roll. We hadn't been there in an age, and I have to give these folks credit - they do a GREAT job keeping kids occupied for 2 hours. I mean, at this point, they've got it down to a science - games, bounce houses, food, and bubbles. What more do you need?
It was a Frozen themed party (Emmi was too cute in her princess outfit), and there were probably 12-15 kids there. As per standard, K wasn't super excited about playing with the other kids or participating in a lot of the organized activities, but I will say that toward the end she was in there with all the other kids. She quite enjoyed the parachute game, and she LOVED the bounce house! Again, she's definitely getting braver, as she walked in there and bounced around for quite a while, even when other kids joined in (we managed to cajole her into the bounce house when there wasn't anyone else inside). She definitely got knocked around quite a bit given that she was the youngest one in the bounce house by the end, but that did nothing to dampen her spirits. ROUGH AND TUMBLE!!!! She also did an AMAZING job of climbing up their little "rock wall" and sliding down the other side. I'd never seen her do that before, and I don't think there's any question at this point she's got her mother's climbing skills (seriously - it's been INSANE to watch her growth in that area - she's getting stronger than a bull moose!). She also managed to hold onto the trapeze for a bit as well - the trick is just holding it still long enough for her to actually manage a grip. :-)
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| K in action during the open gym portion - she loves those balloons! |
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| The girls - too cute sitting together. |
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| The gang - THUG LIFE! |
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| Carrots and fruit come and go. But ICING - that lasts a lifetime. Or 30 seconds if you're K (who didn't touch the rest of the cupcake, for the record). |
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| "Flying high with the greatest (somewhat) of ease!" |
There was one emotional moment for me during this party. Earlier in the day, when Jenny had gone to church early to volunteer, a light snow started falling outside. As it got heavier, I asked K if she wanted to go outside and catch snowflakes. She did, and so we bundled up and spent about 10-15 minutes catching them and just frolicking in the falling snow. It was a blast (but FREEZING), and we only made it about 15 minutes. Fast forward to the end of the party, and they started playing "Do you wanna build a snow man?" and popping bubbles in the main play area. The lights were dim, and all I could focus on was Kaitlyn, running around in her own little world, popping bubbles and completely transfixed in the moment. It reminded me of the snow earlier in the day, and then it further reminded me of how few "snowflake catching" opportunities we'll have in CLT. It then further made me think about how fast it all goes, and it came crashing down that I'd spent much of January obsessed with progress in lists and getting in front of goals and to-dos for the year vs. actually just "being" where I was every second of the day. It was a somber, sobering thought, and I had to fight back tears as I watched her running after each bubble. It was a good wake up call, and three weeks later I'm still feeling much more focused on my family and containing the pace of life. Pastor Troy once warned that you can let your greatest strength become your greatest weakness. Organization is one of my greatest strengths, and in that moment I realized that I'd started to let lists control my life.
1/18 - "Just hurt mommy!" So this day was a fun one, as we kicked it off at NOMAD for an hour in the "warm pool" (which AIN'T SO WARM, for the record). We then came back home for a nap, and we thought all was well until we heard K say, "Daddy, I poopied!" So we went upstairs to find K over by the curtain, at which time she said to me "Daddy, why did I put my fingers in my poop?" Sure enough, she had something quite earthy that was NOT sea salt dark chocolate on her fingers. We then went to wipe her fingers, at which point she said, "why did I touch the curtains with my poopy, dada?" GOOD QUESTION. But luckily it wasn't much, so we were able to get it off. The sheets, however, were in DIRE NEED of a quick soak. Oh, and how big was this steamer? Let's just say it clogged the toilet!
The funniest line of the day came in the afternoon while playing "grumpy bear." So K has been LOVING this game as of late. Basically one of the parents curls up on the couch to hibernate, and then K comes over and wakes the bear up. The bear then chases K and the other parent around the house until eventually the bear catches them and embraces them in a bear hug. We have been doing this a TON lately, but on this particular one I was closing in and said, "I'm gonna get you!!!!" K's response was awesome: "Don't hurt me - just hurt mommy!" Team Taylor is nothing if not selfless...A side note that kicked off in earnest this week - we think naps are well and truly done. She only napped once the week of the 18th, and she's probably only napped a grand total of 3 times since then. And while it does give Jenny and I more time in the evening (which is especially good given that we're now getting up at 6 AM every morning), the flip side is that K's usually exhausted and in meltdown by the end of the night. And since that's normally when I get the bulk of my time with her, it can be rather frustrating (case in point was tonight -8th of Feb as I type this) - K was MENTAL for an hour. Add in the fact that K wanted nothing to do with dada the whole month, and you have a recipe for some deep breaths and moments to steady one's nerves. :-)
1/22 - K's first real snow: Ok, so it's not her first snowfall. However, I do think it's likely the first snowfall that she'll remember. We were basically snowed in for 3 days (it wasn't the volume of snow but rather the temperature, as the world was a sheet of ice for 3 days), and during that time we had a blast - cocoa, the fire place, and lots of exploring the South Pole (aka the 7th hole on the golf course out back). K had a BLAST. She had her first sled right, courtesy of Mr. Rick (he pulled her on the ice in our driveway). She also sledded down the "hills" in the golf course in a cardboard box (we got some great footage of that) and tromped about all over the place. We got some great pictures, and it was really, really a blast.
1/23 - K's first bubble bath: So JT picked up some bubble bath from Wal-mart on this day, and K absolutely LOVED the bubbles. However, after that first evening, she has been ADAMANT that she doesn't want any bubbles in the tub (other than the monster bubbles we blow). Seriously - she cried on 1/24 when we filled the tub with bubbles, and we basically had to try and get rid of all of them before she would get in. She then screamed and cried when she got out of the tub and had a few bubbles on her - we couldn't dry her off fast enough! On the 25th she was FIRM AND CLEAR with her request - "NO BUBBLES, MAMA." Okay...
One other thing that was adorable this night: K wanted to play "Mommy Baby" and "Daddy Baby," which basically consists of JT and I acting like we're new borns and trying to do tummy time. Well, on this one, when w
e would "cry" K would say, "It's ok, daddy baby - I will sing you a Rockabye." She would then proceed to softly sing to us, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." I mean, does it get any cuter?
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| Intrepid explorers in the far north...of Mecklenburg Co. |
1/30 - "Daddy, I got a wedgie" : Not a lot too this one, other than the fact that she just blurted that out
while we were visiting the Tacy's that Sunday. K actually fell asleep in the stroller during the walk there, which is amazing because I've only seen her fall asleep in the stroller twice in the last year - BOTH TIMES at the Tacy's during our walk to the clubhouse. We spent some time at the play area, where K showed off her mad climbing skills.1/31: "You're dad, I'm Kate!" On the 31st, we rocked over to Prosperity Park, where K again showcased her climbing skills. She's figuring out how to leverage her legs and adjust to maximize lift and thrust - quite impressive! She's also getting better at swinging, meaning she's much more comfortable, enjoying going higher, and even starting to try and pump her legs. During this window she started saying "You're dad, I'm Kate!" She's been calling us mom and dad a lot more lately, and each time she's said it we've replied, "Okay, Kate." Talk about growing up too fast!
Wrapping with some general thoughts, it was a GREAT month for Team Taylor. We are really in a great season in our lives, and there is a peace over this household right now that is so wonderful. Gone is the stress about trying to get pregnant. Right now Jenny and I are just praying and giving it to God, asking that His will be done in our lives. We absolutely want another child, but we also know that there are many ways to grow Team Taylor, and God has a plan for us. I have been praying about adoption as well. Obviously we're not committing to that just yet, but I want my heart open to hear God's calling. And if He tells us that Team Taylor is a party of 3, well that's absolutely perfect as well, as I have everything I've ever wanted in life between the woman I go to sleep beside every night and the little miracle upstairs in her room. We are blessed beyond measure, and I feel that we've finally realized that. And when you realize that all your hopes and dreams have been fulfilled and then some, there's definitely a tranquility in your heart. I also feel that, within the last few weeks, I've managed to put the lists down, slow my pace, and be better focused on my family or the activity at hand. January is always a "lights out" month for me, perhaps because I'm just so keen to kick off the year and avoid any January blues from settling in. February is shaping up to be much calmer, and for that I am immensely grateful.
As for K, we've spent a lot of time playing "Get my nose," which we then throw upstairs into "the cave" (aka the Bonus Room) in the dark. K loves it, as she gets to use her flashlights. We love it, as it gets her upstairs! :-) We've also started playing, "Let's see what that daddy is doing," which is a great way to get her out of the bath quickly. Basically I go into her room as they are drying her, pull a bunch of animals and books off the bed, and then cover myself in a see of "stuff," acting like all the animals jumped off the bed and attacked me. It's been pretty cute to see her reactions.
Potty training has very much been (and will continue to be) a work in progress. Honestly, she's pretty much got peeing down, and while she loves the timer, she really does know when she needs to go and will do it. She's even woken up dry a few mornings! Pooping is still an adventure, but hey - we all need a challenge, right?
Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Chat soon!
Love,
Sam and Jenny
